Improved apparatus for treating ores with chlorine



2 SheetsSheet t. E. GAUSSOIN.,

Apparatus for Treating Ores with Chlorine.

N0. 56,549. Patented July 24, 1866.

N, PETERS. Phnto-Lnnomphw. walnlngtun nv C.

2 Sheets-8heet 2 E. GAUSSOiN.

` Apparatus for Treating Ores with Chlorine.

Patented July 24, i866.

el@ l UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCEO EUGENE GAUSSOIN, OF BALTIMORE,MARYLAND.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR TREATING ORES WITH CHLORINE.

Speciication forming part of Letters Patent No. 56,549, dated July 24,1866; antedated July 11, 1866.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE GAUssoTN, of the city and county ofBaltimore, and State of Maryland, have made new and useful Improvementsin the Treatment oi' Gold Ore by Chlorine 5 and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be afull, clear, and exact description of the nature,construction, and operation of the same, sufiicient to enable oneskilled in the art to which it appertains to construct and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ofthis specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section on theline z e, Fig. 4. Fig. 2 is a vertical section transversely of the axesof the barrels and on the line w x, Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectionon the line yy, Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a plan or top view.

The object of the invention is to obviate the practical difficultiesattending the operation on large quantities of ores by such devices asthose in which the gas is introduced through false bottoms, wherein theores require to be agitated and stirred up to subject them completely tothe action of the gas.

The invention is also designed to prevent the exposure of the workmen tothe deleterious action of the gas by confining the barrels in which itoperates within a casing or structure, through openings in which theorifices of the chambers are reached to renew and discharge thecontents, and through passages in which the gas is introduced andwithdrawn, according to the requirements of the process.

In the drawings, Ais the central longitudinal wall, and B the centraltransverse wall, parallel to the latter, being the end walls, O O, whichsupport the hollow journals D D of the barrels E, which rotate withinthe chambers formed by the said walls and the arched doors F.

Each pair of barrels, as shown in Fig. l, are united by a hollowconnectingjournal, I, and the end journals communicate by openings withchannels M in the walls C B, by which the chlorine gas generated in theretort or ch amber X is conveyed from one story to another of theapparatus.

The barrels are not peculiar in their construction. They are representedas of the ordinary bilge shape, with heads strengthened by disks towhich the hollow journals are attached, and the gas passes from oneseries to another in the manner described.

Each barrel is provided with an opening, J, at its bilge, closed by alid or cover, L, and the charging is done from the top through theopenings R, which, when the upper series of barrels are rotated to theright position, aftbrds the, means for the introduction of the ore intothe barrels. To change the series next below, the upper set are rotatedone-half a revolution, which brings their respective openings oppositeto each other, when, the lid being slipped back, the ore falls into thebarrel below. This process is repeated to charge the set next in seriesbelow, and the simultaneous action of the barrel is secured by ymeans ofconnecting them all to a common set of gear-wheels and shafts, S S T.

The passages M in the end wall, O, pass up- 'wardly and discharge at M,Fig. 4, while the middle wall is pierced with sevensix of which (markedN, Figs. 3 and 4) lead from the middle journal-bearings of the six pairsof barrels, while the middle shaft, W, communicates by the drains Y withthe chambers in which the barrel rotates, so as to remove from them anydrip from the barrels.

The arched oors between the chambers have openings I, which admit of thedischarge from one to another when the valve K is withdrawn and theopenings in the barrels relatively adjusted.

The shape of the sliding lids L prevents any drip from the barrelspassing through the opening L below it, and the collected drainage fromY Y WV is collected and carried oft' to the laboratory. e

The discharging is commenced at the lower barrel into a vessel in thechamber Z, and the ,openings H in the side walls give access to thecovers of the barrels when required.

When the barrels are charged and closed the gas is admitted through thehollow axles and the passages in the walls from barrel to barrel, whilethe latter revolve to expose every particle of ore to the iniiuence ofthe gas, the surplus of which escapes at the top at the orices M N, tobe concentrated in a proper apparatus.

After revolving the necessary time with chlorine, hot water isintroduced into the barrels by the pipes M N N, and the barrels revolveagain to dissolve the chlorides, the free chlorine being also absorbedby the hot water, so as not to be inhaled by the workman at the openingsH, who manipulates the doors L when about to discharge the contents ofthe barrels.

The superabnndant chlorine may be exhausted by pumps from the apparatus,if required.

In discharging, the fluids are, by the valves K, turned into thechannels Y Y W, which proceed to the laboratory, when, in the case ofgold solutions, the precipitation is eff'ected by sulphate of iron orother chemical process. The impoverished ore is then discharged into thechamber Z.

The insides of the hollow axles are protected against the action of thegas by a lining of gutta-percha, varnish, or other suitable substance.

In some cases I use ellipsoids in the barrels to assist in thetrituration of the amalgam.

Having described my invention, whatI claim therein as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The inclosing walls andoor, forming chambers in which the barrelsrevolve, and

from which the fluid contents are removed by drains from the sides andthe solid by an aperture at the corner of the arch.

2. The combination ofthe hollow axles and perforated walls, forming aseries of connections from the generator', from barrel to barrel, andultimately to the discharge-apertures at the summit.

3. The arrangement of the barrels with their operating-gearing, so thattheir respective openin gs are in revolution presented alternately tothe openin gs ofthe ones next in series above and next below, to affordthe means of discharging, as described.

4. The combination of the revolving barrels and the openings J andwall-openings H, as and for the purpose described.

5. The combination of the valves K with the drains Y Y W, as and for thepurpose de-v

